Chapter 465: Plots within the Imperial Palace

An alchemist using this 'Writing Life With Fire' had to inject their Qi within the ingredient without disturbing it too much. In itself, it was difficult and the correct method depended heavily on the nature of the ingredient. Just putting Qi within some ingredients could destroy them or alter the elements within their medicinal essence which would make them useless. Thus, one had to control the ratio of the five elements within their own Qi in order to preserve the element.

In other words, this technique also required a great understanding of the ingredient, its actual state, and of Five Elements Wheel. In fact, almost all of the five Golden Elixir Principles would be tested by this technique, apart from Cauldron Maintenance. Within Qi, like within everything, there was a balance of the five elements. Each element was not to be taken literally. They were properties and concepts that were attributed to elements. For example Fire could be literal fire but it could also be the excitement within one's mind. On the other hand, Water was calmness.

After injecting it within the ingredient, the alchemist would coil their Qi around the medicinal essence. It was then necessary to burn the outside of the ingredient with the naked flame until only the medicinal essence remained. For that, a powerful flame was required. But that also meant that it could easily destroy the medicinal essence and even the Qi used by the alchemist. At the same time, the alchemist would be forced to control both the flame and the medicinal essence through their Qi. A Spirit Warrior would have an easier time of course, but this wasn't impossible for a Mortal Warrior.

One advantage was that all the process happened outside of the cauldron. As such, it was possible to observe everything even without spiritual senses. However, the technique itself was incredibly difficult to pull off. It required an insane control over one's Qi. Thankfully, Cao Yun was really confident in that, especially with his mind cultivation. After all, he was even able to manipulate Evil Qi better than any demonic cultivator. And for many months, he had worked on unraveling seals with Dian Mo. In a sense, it was a similar process. He would have to separate the medicinal essence and keep it safe while burning the rest of the ingredient. Thus, he wasn't too worried about this trial.

The main problem was the time he would need to fully master this method. However, Cao Yun had a good way of dealing with that. Just like before, he could simply rehearse in his own mind while accelerating his thought processes. As a matter of fact, both Feng Yingyue and Hei Mua had the same ability. Not only had they practiced 'Sealing the Seven Demons in the Nine Peaks', but they were also able to enter their own sea of consciousness. The three of them had a great advantage over the other participants. Even Xue Gulin didn't have that kind of means.

After looking a bit around him, Cao Yun saw that the two women were already meditating on what they had just read. On the other hand, some alchemists were reading the same manual several times in a row to be sure they had understood it correctly. A few others were already using their flame in the air to rehearse. Xue Gulin was among them. Right now, he was controlling a dozen tongues of fire. Each one was different and they were forming great shapes in the air. Many people in the audience were in awe. Without the array formations isolating the contestants, they could have felt the temperature reaching them.

Ignoring what was happening around him, Cao Yun focused solely on mastering this technique. Thanks to his Rune of Fire, his control over fire was as great as a Human alchemist could achieve. In fact, it was really bordering on the Heaven rank. However, he had to admit that Xue Gulin's mastery over his flame was indeed prodigious. As much as he could feel his desire to kill him, Xue Gulin was an incredible alchemist alright. Unfortunately, Cao Yun had made his mind about killing him. For too long he had been indecisive and only reacting to things. With his senses, he was absolutely certain that Xue Gulin had planned on murdering him.

What was sad was that Xue Gulin wasn't a demonic cultivator at all. But despite the philosophies of the Hongchen Kingdom about the unity of mankind, there would always be dissensions and conflicts even among a united kingdom. Before Xue Gulin could become too powerful or too influential, Cao Yun would have to get rid of him. Of course, he couldn't do so in the middle of the Imperial Palace during the Alchemy Conference. But he already had several ideas on how to do things. After all, he had all the means to make it look like a demonic cultivator had killed him. And if the demonic cultivators intended to attack the Alchemy Conference, he might have the opportunity then.

After talking about this with both Feng Yingyue and Xiao Xuefeng, they had all agreed. In fact, Xiao Xuefeng had used her influence in the Myriad Cherry Blossom Hall. Although she had found no definite proof as spying within the Imperial City was more difficult than anywhere else in the Hongchen Kingdom, there were troubling things. Most likely, Xue Gulin had come into contact with the Seven-Headed Scorpion.

The Seven-Headed Scorpion was an organization of criminals. They were also acting as mercenaries from time to time. Unfortunately, the Hongchen Kingdom required their services in many occasions. As long as they were not going too overboard or if there weren't any evidence against them, they were given a bit of leeway. In fact, they were also close with several temples and sects. Their influence was limited, but they were still strong enough to avoid being eradicated by the Imperial City. Besides, they were also controlling some trades. Getting rid of criminals was impossible. Even if some of their activities were known, proving them was another matter entirely. So long as they didn't threaten the Imperial City, they were in fact more positive for them than they were detrimental.

Learning of that, it was almost obvious that Xue Gulin had planned for Cao Yun's murder. However, the Seven-Headed Scorpion would never agree to murder a 5-star Human alchemist in the Imperial City. In fact, such an act would clearly bring the Imperial City on them. This would be an insult to the Emperor himself. Actually, simply killing a 5-star Human alchemist would be too big of a crime to get out of this unscathed. Most likely, they would refuse. But Xue Gulin might be able to find others ready to do his bidding. After all, he wasn't as rich as Cao Yun but he still had deep pockets.

Although Cao Yun had already made his decision, those elements came to justify it and cement it even further. Moreover, Xiao Xuefeng totally agreed with him and so did Feng Yingyue. To be fair, she didn't like the guy at all. He had been way too insistent with his courting her. Xiao Xuefeng didn't like plotting against a student of her own Golden Flowery Fragrance Institute, but she was of the same mind as Cao Yun. Xue Gulin was too dangerous. At any moment, he might even become a demonic cultivator or turn against their institute. Getting rid of a threat before it could fester was a good idea.

Just as they had planned to get rid of him, Xue Gulin had also planned Cao Yun's murder. Indeed, the Seven-Headed Scorpion had refused his offer. But he had been found out by someone else who was ready to kill his rival. Even now, they were getting ready. The tension in the Imperial Palace was getting more and more intense. Most guards knew that demonic cultivators were preparing something. But no one knew exactly what or when it would happen.

-

From the Imperial Palace's main building, there was a young woman looking at the Alchemy Conference from afar. She was Yong Ke. Her weimao was off, thus no veil was hiding her face. On her throat, there was a deep laceration as if someone had almost cut off her head. Her right cheek was covered in burn marks as well. Those had not been caused by normal fire but by Evil Qi mixed in the flames. Even magical medicine could barely get rid of them. Regularly, she was taking pills and using balms but the injuries were taking forever to heal. In fact, she could feel the bite of the flames even now.

All over her bodies, there were scars concealed by her clothes. Just by looking at her face, many people would take pity on her. And she hated that. Her appearance was one thing, but the looks her servants gave her were unbearable. If Cao Yun were here, he would have recognized a face that was very familiar to him. That woman was way younger than he had imagined. She was barely eighteen in fact. No amount of cultivation could make someone look that young without using special techniques. Thus, this was a true age.

Right now, she was observing the trials taking place between the younger alchemists. In particular, she was observing Cao Yun closely. Her room was protected by many array formations that prevented anyone from seeing inside. Otherwise, her father would have even forbidden her from looking outside. Recently, he had become more and more protective of her. And with her little escapade, he had grounded her for the upcoming years.

"Young mistress, it is time for your training!"

"Wait, I just want to watch Chen Guo perform the technique first."

"Young mistress, your father's orders are quite clear. You have to cultivate! It is important that you become a Spirit Warrior as soon as possible. We are living in troubling times. You should understand that your father wants to make sure what happened to you can never happen again."

In her room, Yong Ke knew that there were at least two middle Spirit Warriors protecting her. Unless she became a Spirit Warrior herself, she would never be allowed out ever again. Thankfully though, even her father had not been able to find out how she had been able to leave the first time. As a 3rd-grade Mortal Warrior, it would take her years if not decades to become a 1st-grade Spirit Warrior. Right now, her father was forbidding her from leaving, but he couldn't keep her locked up an entire decade. At some point, he would allow her to leave again. At least, she hoped for it. Otherwise, she would need to escape her guards' vigilance once again. The very clothes protecting her were also a great way to leave her room unnoticed. But for now, she was very obedient to lower their vigilance.

"Please, let me just watch until Chen Guo is done. He's always fast in those trials. And..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Cao Yun had opened his eyes. This time, he had been faster than even Feng Yingyue.

-

Cao Yun ignited his 'Aureate Grove Blaze' and began to work on his flame. To his right, a young man burned a full stalk of Deep Sea Breathing Kelp by mistake, without extracting anything from it. Mastering this technique was rather difficult indeed. Even though he had focused absolutely all of his mind on this single task, it was still a bit too hard for the man. On the other hand, Cao Yun was expertly handling his ingredients. The same Deep Sea Breathing Kelp was levitating above the fire as Cao Yun was sending his Qi within, coiling around every ounce of medicinal essence.

Then, the flames began to lick the exterior of the ingredient, dancing all over its surface. The kelp was dancing as though it was back in the depths of the ocean. Instead of bathing in water, it was covered in blue flames though. Bit by bit, the ingredient began to burn away. And from the smoke, small surges of shining blue Qi mixed with medicinal essence and then flew toward the blank pellet right in front of Cao Yun.

For the people who were watching, this was a great spectacle. Cao Yun's control over his flame was simply incredible, even superior to Xue Gulin's. Many in the audience were completely subjugated by those colorful flames dancing along the burning ingredients. Even Yong Ke was lost in those. Right now, she had the sensation of watching a great fireworks show. Moreover, the competition had lasted all day and the sun was setting, shining a bright red on the horizon. That view was mesmerizing.

Even for Cao Yun and Xue Gulin, using this technique over and over again was tiring for their mind. They had a total of ten pellets to fill with medicinal essence. According to the rules explained by the arbiter, they would be judged on how much medicinal essence they had injected in the ten pellets as well as how many stalks they had needed for that. In theory, there were enough stalks of Deep Sea Breathing Kelp to fill twenty pellets. Considering that many alchemists had burned several stalks while training, it was barely enough.

As everything was going rather well, Xue Gulin began to falter a little. As fatigue was settling in, he made a mistake and a huge part of the stalk he was working on began to burn way too much. Quickly, he made a decision and cut off this part to protect the rest of the stalk. However, that mistake caused another one as he was stressed. The more anxious he was because of his mistakes, the more mistakes he would make and the more anxious he would get because of them.

On the other hand, Cao Yun made no mistake at all. It was as if he had practiced this technique all his life. In fact, he had practiced it more than ten thousand times in his own mind. It had taken him a few hours, but it was totally worth it. Now, his control over his flame was even greater than before. In fact, this 'Writing Life With Fire' technique was a great way to train oneself. Maybe he would use it on other ingredients to improve his alchemy and his understanding of fire.

For now, Cao Yun kept on going. He had filled all ten pellets before Feng Yingyue opened her eyes.